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NEXT CLASS

Semester Over
It was Fun and I hope
you learned something
in this class. Review this blog in 2033
and see if we were right.


Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Revolutionary Innovation.


BY: Toren Miller

Many people recognize Mark Zuckerberg for his fervent effort to innovate social networking, his success at it, then leave it at that. What people fail to realize is the simple business genius of Zuckerberg. The innovations we take for granted as colloquial web surfers and Facebook users are marks of pure genius! Think about it, every social network including many non-social networks are linked to Facebook. You can sign in to your twitter, instragram, collegeboard, online clothing accounts, just about every website that has a login is linked to Facebook.

What does this all mean? If it is not already clear, Zuckerberg is sticking his hand in every profitable pot across the globe as each company looks to be generationally relevant. Facebook has over a billion users including a myriad of companies who provide promotions through Facebook.  He is literally profiting without any direct contact with any other entity! How genius is that? Between signing in to your email through Facebook to users all over the globe, Zuckerberg wins the entrepreneur of the decade in my book.

Mark Zuckerberg is also cultivating an affluent business through acquisitions. In his words, "We have not once bought a company for the company. We buy companies to get excellent people... In order to have a really entrepreneurial culture one of the key things is to make sure we're recruiting the best people. One of the ways to do this is to focus on acquiring great companies with great founders.” Thus Zuckerberg buys out potential competition and allots for exponential expansion. One of the most recent major acquisitions was Instagram on April 9th, 2012. The application has 90 millions users who log on at least once a day through Facebook. Zuckerberg is literally behind the scenes witnessing his pockets flourish due to his savvy business techniques.  


In accord with the previous statement of companies who use Facebook reveal promotions, Facebook has 21,655 companies on it around the globe. What this does is allow these companies to niche market when a user “Likes” their page. This gives the companies the opportunity to provide ads to every user who likes their page all through Zuckerberg releasing and selling the emails of the users. Imagine having 5,000 emails of people who like Starbucks, now Starbucks is willing to purchase said information with the purpose of providing these people with promotions that may potentially lead to higher sales. Now multiply that 5,000 by 100. Imagine the amount a company such as Starbucks is willing to pay for the information to gain access to those 500,000 emails. Zuckerberg is the largest third party advertising agent in the world through his systematic approach to gaining access to people’s emails and thus access to their personal preferences. Companies such as ESPN, Coca-Cola, Oreo, and Disney, put in a significant amount of work and effort into becoming one of the most popular companies on Facebook because they know popularity breeds consumption.



Mark Zuckerberg’s initial, internet changing invention of Facebook made him the youngest billionaire ever but his illustrious business savvy is cultivating him into one of the most powerful men in the world. I ask that we all take notes of how social media can make us all at least millionaires.


Relevant  Articles Below




http://www.biography.com/people/mark-zuckerberg-507402



Can There Really Only be ONE


BY: Gerald Gorham


In the recent years smart phone manufacturing have really explored all avenues to gain an advantage on other competitors. Although many perceive Apple’s iPhone Line to be the front runner in this competitive race companies such Google are not far behind. Many people currently know the Google’s Android line for their new Samsung Galaxy S4, but that is not their only new device for 2013.

Another major Android phone for 2013 is the HTC One. The HTC One has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad core processor, like the Galaxy S4. The HTC One also has 2 gigabytes of RAM, and a 4.7 inch display with 1080p resolution, which provides for a sharper image than the S4. This phone also operates using the Sense Home Screen, which turns your home screen into a live newsfeed, in which you can connect you social media accounts and other information sources.



Videos:







Technology Advancing in Education



By: Caleb Dyson

Technology is always evolving, pushing us further and expanding our capabilities. It continues to have a profound impact on us, transforming nearly every aspect of our lives. Nevertheless, one of the most important aspects of our personal growth education has yet to embrace all of technology’s transformational benefits. The future of education lies in personalized learning learning that is tailored to fit the needs of each individual. Every student has a learning profile that is as unique as a fingerprint. With personalized learning, students can focus on their own skills development to creatively and properly prepare themselves to enter and compete in the dynamic, digital and interconnected world of today.

Thanks to technology, personalized learning can take place anytime, inside or outside the classroom. Interactive video content supplements textbooks and can be further adapted to meet each student’s unique learning level. It is interesting to see how technology is growing in education. I remember when I was coming up; teachers were still using chalkboards to help us as students learn. Being that technology has grown so much, children can now be taught on the iPad’s and smart boards. Personally I think that students learn better with using technology in class rather than watch a black and white chalkboards. Technology attracts student’s attention and can keep them engaged because it is fun and interesting. With the amount of people that uses tablets in the education system, that can make the use of paper and chalk go extinct. The future is headed in a direction that will have students taking tests on their tablets and teacher teaching from smartboards.



Acer Aspire R7


BY: Elliot Cotton

We’ve seen some weird and wacky hybrids in previous years, but the newly launched Aspire R7 by Acer has gone further out on a limb than most. Its hinge, dubbed the “Ezel”, resembles the central support strut of an all-in-one PC more than a laptop hinge, and it delivers a surprising amount of flexibility.

With the Aspire R7 fully closed, the strut is flush with the lid, with the hinge itself attached to the center rear of the display. It looks odd, but this arrangement allows the screen to tilt back and forth, lift up above the keyboard so it’s floating like a desktop PC monitor, while spinning vertically to face away from you or fold flat, facing up.

While it can, of course, be used as a standard laptop, and positioning the display “normally” like this reveals the Acer Aspire R7’s other party trick its large, glass touchpad is also positioned above the keyboard instead of below it.




On the other hand, I have concerns about the long-term practicality of this arrangement. While testers were using it on the stand at Acer’s big launch event in New York, they found it difficult to mouse about without resting a palm on the keyboard, inadvertently pressing keys.

The position of the keyboard at the very front of the chassis also means there’s nowhere to rest your wrists while typing. On a hybrid, such as the Sony VAIO Duo 11, this isn’t a massive problem because the keyboard is so thin. On the Aspire R7, however, the front lip of the keyboard rises a centimetre or so above the desk, which makes typing feel distinctly odd.




Also, although this may not be immediately obvious from the photographs, the R7 is a very big machine. The Full HD IPS screen measures 15.6in from corner to corner, and the mechanics of that hinge means it’s a weighty piece of kit, too. Suffice it to say, it isn’t a laptop you’ll be wanting to lug around much and, perhaps in keeping with its all-in-one PC look, it’ll likely stay tethered to a desk.



While innovation is thriving now at an all time high companies are now forgetting the bare necessities and accommodations that all must consumers require. If Acer wants to see the maximum potential of this product they must take into consideration the conformability of their product as it relates to the consumers.  

High Energy Laser Takes Out Rocket


BY: Langston Brown

Recentely, Lockheed Martin has released a video of ADAM, a high energy laser system, destroying a rocket from 0.9 miles (1.5 km) away. The video evidently shows the laser beam striking and tracking a point towards the front of the rocket, before destroying it mid-flight.

ADAM, which stands for Area Defense Anti-Munitions is a laser weapon system that is designed to defeat close-in improvised rocket and unmanned aerial system (UAS) threats. Its purpose is to protect vulnerable assets such as military bases near the frontline, acquiring and tracking short-range targets from a distance of 5 km (3.1 miles), and destroying from a range of up to 2 km (1.2 miles).

Imagine being cooped up with your unit miles deep into enemy territory beyond any immediate help, behind some makeshift stone walls and plywood. Some are sleeping, while others stand watch using night vision to leach signs of danger from the dark. When the attack comes it starts with shoulder launched rockets — but rather than just seeing the flash and yelling for cover, troops are protected by Area Defense Anti-Munitions.

In the test, which took place April 22, an ADAM prototype takes out a "Qassam-like" rocket. Qassam rockets are artillery munitions used by the military wing of Hamas in attacks against Israel.
Lockheed Martin's video of the prototype test can be seen below.



Friday, May 3, 2013

Samsung’s Folding the Competition


By: Christopher Winston


Have you ever dreamed of a flexible phone that bends frontwards and backwards? Well your dreams may soon come true with Samsung’s new Youm Smartphone. Samsung previewed some of its flexible prototype at the International CES back in January 2013. The Youm prototype was an OLED screen the size of a smartphone that could bend like paper but can emit bright colors. The Samsung engineer who displayed the prototype had this to say, "We're so confident in the market potential for flexible OLEDs that we're creating an entire new line under the Youm brand name,"

Youm panels are predicted to hit the market at some time in 2013. The downside is these OLED panels are much more expensive compared to glass based panels. Customers can expect to pay an arm and a leg for this new innovative device. Once the Youm is released it is speculated they wont come out in mass volumes, rather it will be more of a “niche” product.


Thursday, May 2, 2013

Money is Debt. Debt is Money.


BY: Ed Ehite


Federal Reserve Notes, known as dollar bills are printed by the Federal Reserve and then lent to the United Stated. Since the Federal Reserve is a private corporation, like all loans this one bares an interest. Almost all loans are made up of the principal amount and accrued interest. If the entire money supply is borrowed from the central bank and then put in circulation by commercial banks through loans, only what is referred to as the principal is in the money supply. The first question should be is when does the accrued interest to be paid back in addition to the principal amount come into existence

Most money, around 97%, exists only virtually in the cyber world rather than dollar bills or coins. This means that only 3% of the total money supply can be held in the physical world. How does this work? The economy runs on faith that the credits and physical currency issued by the government take on the formal role actual goods or gold. If the people did not accept this relationship then this method would not be successive.

The real deception is the devaluation of currency which is known formerly as inflation. How can we expect to solve the problem of debt by increasing the money supply without a proportional expansion of goods and services? The only way to create more money is from loans. Therefore, if everyone in the country were able to pay off all debts, including the government, there would not be one dollar in circulation.

Technology is only allowing this debt ceiling to rise at an even higher rate. Marrine Eagles stated, “If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn’t be any money.” Marrine Eagles served as Governor of the Federal Reserve and stated this September 30, 1941 at House Committee Hearing.